Chest fluid drain (thoracentesis) cost in North Dakota

Prices at 12 hospitals in North Dakota, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $946 — 24% below the US median ($1,239), roughly 3.0× the Medicare rate.

Lowest cash prices

HospitalLocationCashInsurerCMS ratingER waitReadmit
CHI St Alexius Health Williston Williston, ND $509 $719 ★ 3/5 156 min —
CHI St Alexius Health Dickinson Dickinson, ND $553 $614 ★ 2/5 174 min —
CHI St Alexius Health Devils Lake Devils Lake, ND $600 $1,042 ★ 2/5 133 min —
Jacobson Memorial Hospital Care Center Elgin, ND $793 $1,004 — 111 min —
Lisbon Area Health Services Lisbon, ND $800 $1,185 — 110 min —
Jamestown Regional Medical Center Jamestown, ND $836 $777 ★ 4/5 109 min —
St Andrew's Hospital Bottineau, ND $1,055 $888 — 105 min —
Essentia Health Fargo, ND $1,293 $840 ★ 3/5 108 min —
Mountrail County Medical Center Inc Stanley, ND $1,350 $1,350 — 83 min —
Sanford Medical Center Bismarck Bismarck, ND $1,467 $1,289 ★ 4/5 180 min —
Altru Hospital Grand Forks, ND $1,817 $1,005 ★ 3/5 177 min —
Sanford Medical Center Fargo Fargo, ND $1,821 $1,102 ★ 4/5 181 min —

CMS rating = overall hospital star rating (1–5); ER wait = median minutes in the emergency department; Readmit = 30-day readmission rate (lower is better) — all from Medicare’s Care Compare; “—” = not reported. Data last updated October 2026. Prices from hospitals’ machine-readable files (45 CFR §180); Medicare benchmark from CMS PFS/CLFS/IPPS. Prices below 15% of the median are excluded as likely partial or mis-coded charges. Estimates — confirm with the hospital. Report an incorrect price.

Price comparison (median)

Chargemaster (list price)
$1,428
Cash / self-pay
$946
Insurer-negotiated
$1,004
Medicare pays
$311
$557$1,782
Median cash $946  ·  Medicare $311  ·  bar = typical cash range (10th–90th percentile)
Is this a fair price?
1× Medicarefair ≈2×5×+

Typical cash price here is $946 — about 3.0× the Medicare rate ($311). On the higher side. A fair cash price is usually within ~2× Medicare ($622).

💡 Asking for the cash price instead of the $1,428 list price could save about $483 (34%).

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Rough estimate from this procedure’s median insurer-negotiated rate. Your actual cost depends on your plan — confirm with your insurer.

Chest fluid drain (thoracentesis) cost in other states

All Chest fluid drain (thoracentesis) prices (national) → · All hospitals in North Dakota →